The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

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Monday, July 18, 2016

UK: It Wasn't a Gaffe - Shoshana Bryen

by Shoshana Bryen

Such was the desire of the
European parliamentarians to protect Mahmoud Abbas that his blood libel
was erased from all official documents.

Unable to countenance even the mildest criticism, and unwilling
or unable to engage in serious conversation, even with European
interlocutors much less with Israel, Abbas may finally have made the
Palestinian cause too difficult for the Europeans.

The naming of Boris Johnson as Britain's Foreign Minister set off in
his home country a storm of name-calling and hand-wringing that
approximates the Democrat reaction to Donald Trump. Without wading into
British politics, there is one specific incident that the Daily Mail called an impolitic "gaffe" that should be assessed at greater length -- and from a different angle:

Last November local [Palestinian] officials called off a
visit to Palestine on safety grounds after the then-London mayor told an
audience in Tel Aviv that a trade boycott of Israeli goods was
"completely crazy" and supported by "corduroy- jacketed, snaggletoothed,
lefty academics in the UK."

Palestinian officials accused him of adopting a "misinformed and
disrespectful" pro-Israel stance and said he risked creating protests if
he visited the West Bank.

Johnson was right on the merits: The Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) movement is largely a function of university campuses
and has little to do with Israel-UK trade, which is robust and growing.
But the incident should be understood as a window into Palestinian
strategy, and as such should not be overlooked.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas did not use the
opportunity presented by Mr. Johnson's visit to offer his view, to
explain why Johnson was wrong, to promote UK-Palestinian trade, or even
to argue for BDS. He reflexively threatened a prominent European guest
with violence. It surely would have erupted on schedule if Johnson had
continued his visit. The Palestinians are no longer interested in
discussing their interests/demands/wishes. They have entered a period of
ultimatum: one-hundred percent or nothing; my way or violence even with
their friends.

It was in the atmosphere of "no criticism/no negotiation" that Abbas
went to a European Parliament meeting in Brussels in June, following an
inconclusive French-sponsored "peace process" meeting that included
neither Israelis nor Palestinians -- a mechanism Abbas assumed
would result in French demands on Israel. It did not -- putting Abbas
in a foul mood for the European Parliament meeting that was prelude to
the release of the Middle East Quartet report on prospects for
Israeli-Palestinian peace. Again, Abbas expected to hear only criticism
of Israel.

Then, European Parliament President Martin Shulz tried to arrange a
meeting between Abbas and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Rivlin
agreed, Abbas declined -- and it was later revealed that Abbas even
changed hotels when he discovered he and Rivlin were sharing a roof. It was in Brussels where Abbas claimed
that some Israeli rabbis were calling for Israel to poison Palestinian
water -- an echo of Suha Arafat's claim in 1999 that Israelis were poisoning Palestinian air and water. Abbas received a standing ovation at the end of his remarks; Suha received a kiss from then-First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas receives a standing ovation at the
European Parliament in Brussels, after falsely claiming in his speech
that Israeli rabbis were calling to poison Palestinian water. Abbas
later recanted and admitted that his claim had been false. (Image
source: European Parliament)

Under pressure from people who recognized a centuries-old debunked piece of anti-Semitism, Abbas recanted
and admitted that his claim had been false. But such was the desire of
the European parliamentarians to protect him that his blood libel was
erased from all official documents. Which makes his next move even less
understandable.

After much wrangling, the Middle East Quartet report on the future of
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the "two state solution" was
released on 1 July. Before the release, leaks to the press strongly suggested that

"The focus on Israel will be its most contentious aspect." [Ha'aretz]
quoted a senior Israeli government official as stating: "The main
question is how harsh criticism of the settlements will be. All the
members of the Quartet can rally around this issue without a problem."

Calling it an "eagerly awaited report," Reuters
said it would demand that "Israel should stop building settlements,
denying Palestinian development and designating land for exclusive
Israeli use that Palestinians seek for a future state."

"legitimate questions about Israel's long-term
intentions, which are compounded by the statements of some Israeli
ministers that there should never be a Palestinian state... Israel
should cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion..."

But that wasn't enough for Abbas, because even Quartet members found
it impossible to ignore the seven-month-long so-called "stabbing
intifada" and the drumbeat of incitement from the Palestinian Authority
that encourages and honors the murderers of Israeli civilians. Nor could
members ignore definitive evidence of Hamas rebuilding the Gaza tunnel
infrastructure to attack Israel. In a relatively mild section, the
Quartet criticized Palestinian leaders for "not consistently and
clearly" condemning terrorist attacks and, for the first time, said the
arms buildup and military activities in Gaza must stop.

"Any report that does not include the full withdrawal to
the 1967 borders, including occupied Jerusalem, and does not include a
recognition of the illegality of settlement will not lead to real and
lasting peace and will lead to more tension and more instability in the
region."

In other words, more Palestinian-incited violence.

The fit of pique continued as Abbas announced that the PA would boycott the Quartet -- its best friends in Europe plus Russia and the U.S. -- and attempt to block consideration of the report in the UN.

Unable to countenance even mild criticism, and unwilling or unable to
engage in serious conversation even with European interlocutors, much
less with Israel, Abbas may finally have made the Palestinian cause too
difficult for the Europeans, bring the circle back around to Boris
Johnson. Not only did he criticize BDS (in which he clearly criticized
British academics more than Palestinians), he continued, "I cannot think of anything more foolish"
than to boycott "a country that when all is said and done is the only
democracy in the region, the only place that has in my view, a
pluralist, open society."

If there was a gaffe, it wasn't by Johnson.

Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of the Jewish Policy Center.Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8492/boris-johnson-abbas Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.